Connected
by devdev2013
Summary: Ashoka has been kidnapped by a gang while talking to an informant. She has been cut off from the force by her captors. Now only Rex and his connection to Ashoka can save her. But will she ever be the same? Strong T for mentions of rape, nothing explicit.
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING! This is a more intense story than my other two fanfics. There is nothing too explicit but there are mentions of rape. I am rating this T, or a strong PG-13, for now. Please if anyone feels uncomfortable with reading this tell me and I will bump the rating up to M. I don't think that this is nearly as bad as some of the T rated stuff I've read but don't be afraid to tell me that I need to bump the grade. **

**Authors Note**

**I'm sorry if there are some spelling and grammatical errors. If you can point them out I'll try to fix them. Please no flames because that's just rude, but I do except constructive criticism. **

**My point of view jumps around quite a bit within chapters. It is usually between two characters so you get a better idea of what is going on. Like if I have do something from Rex's view then I'll usually have a secondary pov from Anakin too. Hopefully I've made it clear who's pov you are reading. **

**I hope everyone had a good summer. Please enjoy.**

Connected

Chapter One: Kidnapped

Main View: Ashoka

Secondary View: Ace (OC clone)

Ashoka Tano was excited. Her master was letting her take a group of clones with her on a mission. She hadn't been on a mission by herself for a while. Not since the second battle of Geinosis. Anakin had become scared that she wasn't ready for missions on her own. He usually made Rex look after her. Not today though. Today Ashoka and three clones were on a mission of their own.

They were to meet a contact that had information on a gang that was working with the Separatists. Ashoka had never even heard of the gang. She had to think of what the name was. It would come to her eventually.

"This is the place." She said walking up to an open public square. There were restaurants and shops lining the triangular square. Tables and chairs were spread out around the middle of the square.

"Do you see him commander?" Ace asked. Ace was thinking that this would be easy. All they had to do was get the information that they needed and transport the informant back to the ship. They could probably get some lunch to go while escorting the informant. He figured that Commander Ashoka would allow that. She would most likely get something at eat too. His brothers, Tank and Gunner, were thinking along the same lines.

"I don't see him but I definitely sense his fear." Ashoka said leading them threw the crowd. Soon they came upon a table with two seats. One of the seats was taken up by a being Ashoka and the others were unfamiliar with. He was a short rodent like being, with brown matted fur and fangs. **(Author's note: Think capybara like)** He looked up at them with his beady eyes.

"I's sorries, I's would a gotten bigger table buts thisns alls I's could find." He said in a broken dialect with too many 'S's. This would not be fun to listen to and Ashoka knew it. She was also getting an uneasy feeling about the way he was looking at her. His eyes moving up and down her body. Ashoka felt herself shutter.

"It's okay, why don't you tell us what you know?" Ashoka asked as she sat down. The rodent visibly paled, if that was even possible.

"I's gets in big toubles if I's dos. I's shouldn't bes here. I's alreadys dead for speekins with a Jedi." He said as he frantically darting his eyes, looking for someone.

"All the more reason to tell us what you know." Ace said from behind Ashoka

"Wills yous have protection for mes?" He asked.

"Yes, we will protect you." Ashoka assured him.

"Okays, yous knows thisn name of the gang rights?" the rodent asked.

"Actually no, would you mind telling us what the call themselves?" Ashoka asked trying to remember the name.

"Theys calleds the Abrapio. Theys kidnaps pretty girls from theirs homes or offn the streetses. Theys makes the girls slavens. The girls are forced to dos things..theys have to preform and have sex with the Abrapio memberses ands theirs customers. Theys likes girls. Theys gives Abrapio lotsn monneys and gunsens."

"Those dogs." Ace said behind Ashoka. She was thinking the same thing.

"Thats nots the worst part. The Abrapio specialize in kidnappings Jedi girls. Theys costs lots."

"I doubt that." Ace huffed. He had worked with plenty of Jedi, a good portion of them were girls, Ace didn't think that hardly anyone could kidnap a Jedi. Kill one, sure, but capture one alive? Nearly impossible. He only thought nearly impossible because General Skywalker and General Kanobi had been captured once.

The rodent ignored him and kept talking. "Theys haves chains that makes it im-in-imposibiles for thems to usen theirs powers." He explained.

"So they are kidnapping girls and are being supplied by the Separatists?" Ashoka asked to speed things up. She was with Ace on this one, the rodent had clearly been 'in the bottle' as she had heard the men say when they thought she wasn't listening.

"Yes, liken I said." The informant answered.

"Okay that's all we need to know for now. Let's go back to the ship." Ashoka said, still sitting in her chair.

"Yes, I's thinkins thatsn good idea." The rodent said nodding. Before he could get up a gunshot went off. Ace and his brothers immediately went for their guns. Ashoka jumped up knocking her seat over. She buzzed on her lightsaber. Ashoka looked over at the contact. He had fallen out of his seat and was lying motionless on the ground. Ashoka knew that he was dead.

She looked suddenly at the balcony of a building across the street. There was someone there, she could sense that this person was a male. As she strained her eyes she saw him. He was wearing a black shirt and brown pants. He also had dark gray armor on over his outfit. The man also had a sniper's rifle and he was looking down the scope. When he noticed Ashoka looking at him he slung his rifle over his back and ran.

"After him!" Ashoka shouted, pointing at the man. She turned off her light saber and threw off her jedi cloak. Ashoka then started running after the assailant. She jumped on a waiting speeder bike and flew off after him. Ace did the same. His two brothers commandeered a car but got caught by a sudden influx of traffic.

Ashoka and Ace watched as the man stole a speeder bike. He then sped off down a couple of levels. They followed trying to catch up. Ashoka lost track of how many times they had turned or descended a level.

"Hay, we lost you guys. Where are you and how can we help?" One of Ace's brothers said over their COM system.

"We're on East Lane and 2561862 Avenue, level four. Go three streets over and corner him." Ashoka ordered.

"Yes ma'am." Tank and Gunner barked back. Ashoka and Ace had almost caught up to the assassin. Then the man sent his hover cycle into a nose dive. Ashoka and Ace followed him.

"Tank, Gunner, he's plunged. Start descending levels and wait for further instructions." Ace said over the COM. Ashoka smiled and nodded in approval.

The assailant leveled out right before he hit the ground. Ashoka and Ace leveled out too. They were catching up to that assassin again. Realizing this the man turned around and aimed a pistol at them. They saw the gun, but it was too late. He fired, hitting Ace square in the chest. Ace fell off the bike and landed on the ground. Ashoka looked back at her injured comrade.

It was a mistake that would cause her more physical and emotional pain then she could have ever imagined right then. The assassin turned around and threw a small EMP at her. The bike crashed to the ground and sent Ashoka flying.

When she stopped tumbling on the ground her whole body ached. She could feel blood leave her body in a steady trickle from her cuts and scrapes. Ashoka could already feel the sore bruises start to form all over her body. She groaned as she tried to sit up. The ground cut into her hands as she tried to push herself back up. The man was standing beside her now. He reached down and cuffed one of her hands. She struggled against him and looked wildly for her light saber. The man reached for the other hand when a long, black hover-car pulled up.

The door slid open to reveal an older man in a white suite. There were two more men in the car who were dressed in baggy pants and tshirts. The man in the white suit smiled evilly.

"Good job Brutus. Not only have you done your job by killing that rodent, Sqeebs, you have also managed to capture a jedi. An attractive female jedi at that!" The man in the white suit laughed. Brutus began forcing Ashoka up so he could finish handcuffing her.

Ashoka took her chance and elbowed the man named Brutus. He grunted and let go of her. When she was free of him she saw her lightsaber on the other side of the car. Ashoka started running towards the ship, fully intending to jump over it and retrieve her weapon. The two men in the vehicle jumped out at her. Ashoka Force pushed them away. They were thrown into the walls of the alley. Ashoka fell back down to the ground after the Force push.

She was just about to jump again when someone grabbed her arm. Ashoka was forced back down to the ground where she was handcuffed. She didn't even have to look at her captor to know that it was Brutus. He held his right hand firmly on Ashoka's shoulder. His other hand held Ashoka's cuffed hands.

"Nicely done Brutus. Maybe you should work on capturing girls instead of assassinating small fries?" The man in the white suit said sounding pleased. The other two men came back to the car rubbing their heads. Their boss glared at them. Then he looked at Brutus with a sickening gleam in his eye.

"Since you have done so well today, Brutus, why don't you..._enjoy_ her first?" He looked at the man behind Ashoka

Ashoka turned her head to see Brutus leering at her. She saw a gleam of something in his blue eyes. Ashoka had never seen that kind of look in a man's eye. She had only ever been either around jedi or clones and none of the men had this look. Then Ashoka realized what that look was. It was lust.

This was one of the only times Ashoka had ever truly been scared. She remembered what the informant had told her. What had the man in the suite called him? Sqeebs? Yes, that must have been the informant's name. Ashoka could clearly remember the things that Squeebs had told her and the others. She wished that her com hadn't fallen out when she crashed.

Suddenly Brutus let go of her. Before Ashoka could register this though she felt something hit the back of her head. Brutus must have used the butt of his gun to knock her out. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Brutus hauled Ashoka's motionless body into the vehicle and the two men jumped in after him. Then the car lifted up, and sped away.

**Next time on Connected:**

"Tank stay where you are we're coming to help."

"That's the insignia of the Arapido."

_I've got to find her._

"I found this Sir, it's Ashoka's."

"Where are you Ashoka?"

**Chapter Two: Where Is She?**

**Authors End Note**

**I've got all but my last two or three chapters done so I should be updating this story regularly. Every Friday, Texas time, expect a new chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter.**


	2. Chapter Two: Where Is She?

**Author's Note**

**Okay so here is the next chapter of Connected. I hope you guys like it.**

Connected

Chapter Two: Where Is She?

Main View: Rex

Secondary View: Anakin

Rex was enjoying a quiet lunch with Anakin and Obi-Wan. The two Jedi Generals were discussing some new battle strategies while Rex gave his opinion on them. Suddenly Rex felt worried about Ashoka. He had a feeling that something had gone wrong with her mission.

"General when is Commander Tano supposed to report back?" He asked.

"Um, well she should have returned an hour ago." Anakin said looking at his crono, his brown furrowed slightly in worry.

"Maybe she decided to stop and get some lunch." Obi-Wan suggested.

"No, Ashoka knows that I get nervous when she doesn't check in." Anakin said, "This isn't like her. Ashoka has always checked in."

It was true. Rex knew that it was one of the few things that the General required of his padawan. Ashoka knew that too and respected the requirement. Which caused him to worry more about her.

"Do you think something happened?" Rex asked. Anakin was quiet for a while. He closed his eyes in concentration. Rex knew that he was searching for Ashoka with the Force. Then the General's eyes snapped open.

"I can't sense Ashoka in the Force!" He said looking first at Obi-Wan and then at Rex. Rex had hardly ever seen him look so panicked.

"Let's not panic yet Anakin." Obi-Wan said, trying to calm his former padawan.

"Right, something could just be blocking my Force powers." Anakin said nervously. Rex was worried. He knew something must have happened to Ashoka, but what could it have been? This was supposed to be an easy mission. Meet the informant, get the needed information from said informant, then transport the informant to the safety of the ship. Unless the informant had more dangerous information then they had thought!

"We can call Ashoka threw the COM. If we can't reach her then we can probably reach on of the clones that went with her." Obi-wan suggested. The three of them left the mess hall and went up to the war room. Anakin found the frequency for Ashoka's COM.

"Ashoka this is General Anakin Skywalker do you copy?" He asked trying to sound calm. There was only static. Rex didn't like the looks of this.

"Ashoka this is General Skywalker do you copy?"

More Static.

"Ashoka this is Anakin are you alright?" It was no use, there was only static.

"Try one of the clones." Obi-wan suggested. Anakin nodded and tried the others.

"This is General Skywalker, Tank, Gunner, Ace are you guys there? Is everyone alright?" Anakin waited for a response. It seemed like hours to Rex before his brothers responded.

"We're here but we're definitely not alright. Sir the informant was assassinated. We all went after the killer but me and Blaze got separated from Ashoka and Ace. I'm not sure what happened but it looks like they crashed. Ace needs medical attention STAT! And General we can't find Commander Tano. Please send help as soon as possible!" Tank replied sounding out of breath. Rex couldn't remember the last time he had been so worried. What if Ashoka had been hurt in the crash?

"Tank stay where you are we're coming to help." Anakin said, his voice broke in an unfamiliar way. Obi-Wan took over for Anakin. He started barking orders and making preparations for them to embark to the planet below them. Rex just hoped that Ashoka would be alright and that she would turn up soon.

It wasn't long until they were on the planet with a group of troupers to help them. When they got to the ally it was apparent that two speeders had indeed crashed. There were scorch marks and ruble all over the place. Anakin led them toward the three troopers on the side of the road. Two of them stood up and saluted. They must have been Tank and Blaze. The third man was laid out on the ground and looked like he had just been in a wreck. Rex noticed that a gang insignia was graffitied on the trooper's armor.

"Thank you for coming Sir." Tank said as the med-team put Ace on a stretcher.

"Have there been any signs of Ashoka?" Anakin asked. Rex had almost asked that himself but had managed just enough self control not to.

"No, I'm sorry Sir." Gunner said wearily.

"Sir we weren't able to do a thorough search. Ashoka might still be around here." Tank suggested.

"No, she's not anywhere near here." Rex said looking at the trooper's armor more closely.

"How do you know that Rex?" General Skywalker asked.

"Ace's armor General, it has a gang insignia graffitied on it." He said gesturing to Ace's chest plate.

"So?" Anakin asked a little impatiently. Rex didn't take any offense, Anakin had a tendency to take his anger out on the people around him. He had comforted Ashoka a couple of times because of that tendency. And he was a previous victim of the General's anger himself.

"That's the insignia of the Arapido. The informant must have had information about them." Rex hadn't heard a lot about them but something about the Arapido bothered him. He just couldn't remember what it was.

"Wait did you say the Arapido?" Obi-Wan asked. Rex nodded his head slowly.

"I've heard about them too. They're infamous for kidnapping young women. Especially young _jedi_ women." Obi-Wan said looking from him to Anakin.

To Rex it seemed like time stopped when it clicked that Ashoka had been taken. He didn't hear what Anakin was yelling. Everything around him blurred. The only thing that ran threw his mind was, _Ashoka is gone?_

It ran again and again and again in Rex's head. Soon other things spun into his mind, tearing down Rex's world.

_Ashoka is gone._

_She's missing._

_She's been kidnapped._

_What am I going to do without her?_

_I've got to find her._

Before he knew what he was doing Rex tore off his helmet. He didn't know why but he needed air. Then he started walking. He didn't know how long he had walked for but suddenly Rex found himself at a small outdoor area with tables and chairs. It was completely abandoned. On the ground near one of the chairs a dead body lay cold and stiff.

This was where Ashoka had met the informant. Rex walked past a couple of troopers who wee guarding the area. They saw the blue insignia on his shoulder that signified him as a caption and let him pass without question. It was one of the perks of being a caption, almost no questions were asked. Right now though that didn't matter to him. At that moment he felt his world crashing down around him. Right then Rex was just worried about a girl that he liked more than just a friend.

He tried to shake the thought about liking Ashoka as more than just a friend out of his head. He shouldn't have thoughts like that. Rex was trying to get his thoughts straitened out when his foot caught on something. He almost kicked it away but by chance he looked down. The fabric wrapped around his foot was a brown color and looked slightly worn. He recognized it immediately, it was Ashoka's jedi cloak!

Rex bent down and pick the cloak up. He caught a slight whiff of Ashoka's scent. It made him miss her more. Rex also worried more about what had happened to her. What if Ashoka had been hurt? What if she was dead? No, if she was dead they would have left her body laying in the middle of the street like Ace's.

Rex shook the thought from his head before they could become darker. He gently folded her cloak up. Rex then borrowed a speeder to get back to the Generals. He parked the speeder and walked over to the two jedi. Anakin noticed him first. Rex briefly wondered if that was a good thing.

"Rex where...Are you okay?" He asked. Rex could remember only one time he had seen Anakin look so worried and that was when Cad Bane had captured Ashoka. He couldn't blame the sandy-haired jedi though. Anakin cared for Ashoka like a daughter. Well from what Rex could discern as a parent's relationship with their kids since he had only seen a few families and interacted with even fewer. Cut came to mind for a second before he pushed the thoughts away.

"I decided to check out where Ashoka and her team were supposed to meet the informant. And I found this Sir," Rex said handing Anakin the folded cloak and avoiding the previous question, "it's Ashoka's."

Anakin gently took his padawan's cloak from Rex. He took careful notice of how carefully Rex had folded it. Anakin looked at the familiar brown fabric. He knew that this wasn't his fault, but Ashoka was like a daughter to him. He wondered what he was going to tell Padme. She had taken a liking to Ashoka. She would be just as devastated as him when he told her what had happened.

Then he looked back at Rex. The Caption wasn't wearing his helmet. While Rex managed to keep a strait face Anakin could tell that he could break down at any second. Anakin looked at Ashoka's cloak again. Ashoka didn't have too many things, her Jedi cloak was one of the few things that she owned. Anakin didn't need it. But Rex looked like he could use something to remind him of his best friend.

While Anakin had at first debated on weather or not to allow Rex and Ashoka to become so close the horrors of war had soon over ruled him. He had known the two of them to talk about the battles they had been in, the men they had lost in those battles. So he let them become close friends, they needed someone to talk to about what they had seen. They had both stubbornly refused to talk to anyone about what they were going threw. Both believed that they needed to be strong for their troops and to not show weakness in front of their superiors. Anakin was very relieved that they started confiding in each other.

"Rex could you look after this until we find Ashoka? She'd be pretty mad at me if I lost it while she was gone." He said handing the cloak back to Rex.

"I don't mind looking after Ashoka's cloak for a while." Rex said as he gently took the cloak back.

"I think that we found all that is here to find. Let's go back to the ship, I need to do more research about the Arapido." Obi-Wan said thumbing his beard in thought.

"I want to look around some more. I'll meet up with you when I'm done." Rex offered. He felt like he needed to continue looking.

"No Rex you need to rest. Today was definitely stressful and we could all use some sleep. And that includes you." General Skywalker said sternly. He couldn't have his best man exhausted when they looked for Ashoka later.

"But General-"

"Rex go back to the ship and get some sleep, that's an order." Anakin said strictly. Rex looked depressed at leaving without another sweep of the crime scene, even if it would be useless.

"Rex if you don't rest and keep your strength up you won't be able to save Ashoka when we find her." He said in a softer voice. Rex knew that the General was right. He sighed and followed the Jedi and his brothers back to the ship.

When they got to the _Saline_ Rex went back to his room. He was rooming alone because Cody was on a mission somewhere in the outer rim. It was probably for the best, Rex needed some time alone to think. He laid down on his bed and pulled Ashoka's cloak close to him. The cloak smelled like Ashoka, vanilla and brown sugar. It was a heavenly scent.

"Where are you Ashoka?" Rex asked out loud before falling into a fitful sleep.

**Next time on Connected:**

_Rex will find me._

"It is the most sympathy and compassion you will ever know in this place."

"Is there anyone you care for greatly? Someone you love?"

Without the Force she would only last so long.

"Ashoka..come back...please."

**Chapter Three: Shattered Beliefs and New Realizations**

**Author's End Note**

**So how did everyone like my new chapter? I'll have Chapter Three up on Friday next week. Oh and I'm extra happy today because Sunday, the 18th is my Birthday! Yippee for me! :-D**

**Until next time, live, laugh, and rock on.**


	3. Ch3:Shattered Beliefs & New Realizations

**Author's Note**

**This is one of those chapters that hints at rape so just be ready.**

Connected

Chapter Three: Shattered Beliefs and New Realizations

Main View: Ashoka

Secondary View: None

When Ashoka woke up she was in a dark, dirty room with cement walls. She couldn't remember how she had gotten there. Then it all flooded back to her. The informant, Brutus, the crash, getting captured. It all rushed her and her emotions went into overload. She almost cried when she thought of what they would do to her. She should have taken Squeebs more seriously.

Then she thought of Ace. Had he survived? She didn't know and if what the informant had told them was true she never would. _No_, _I can't think like that! Master and Rex will find me. They'll even have Master Kenobi's help. _When she thought of Rex her heart ached.

It wasn't a first time occurrence either. She had been thinking about her best friend a lot lately, in a less than just friendly manner. He was brave and kind. Not to mention he was easy on the eyes. Tall, ruggedly handsome in a military sort of way. And his eyes-Ashoka cut herself off mid thought. In all honesty there were just too many things that she liked about Rex. Sometimes she would find that she had daydreamed about him for hours. Thankfully Anakin hadn't caught her yet. She could only wonder what he would say if he knew the truth...what both Anakin and Rex would say.

"Are you alright?" a small voice said from the other end of the room. It startled Ashoka causing her to yelp.

"It's alright I won't hurt you. I'm not like them." Ashoka turned and in the dim light found the owner of the voice. She was a young catlike-humanoid. She had dingy blondish fur that was in desperate need of a shower. Her eyes were blue and would have looked beautiful except that those eyes were dim. She had obviously seen some terrible things.

"I'm fine, you just startled me is all." Ashoka said with a half hearted smile. The girl didn't respond but studied her. This went on for a while before she spoke up.

"You are new aren't you?" She said it with so much sadness and pain.

"Yes, my name is Ashoka Tano." She reached out to offer her right hand but found that her left was dragged along with it and there was a clanking sound. When she looked at her wrists she found that they were chained together. She pulled at them to see if they would budge but there was her efforts were in vain.

"You're a jedi," The girl realized out loud, "Oh you poor thing." She came over quickly and wrapped her arms around her. Confused Ashoka pulled back.

"What-why did you do that?" She asked wondering if the girl, who couldn't be but a year older than her, was crazy.

"Because it is the most sympathy and compassion you will ever know in this place. They are bad to us but they are worse to jedi. You will suffer so much." Tears streaked the cat-girl's fur.

"We're all going to get out of here, how many are there?" She asked thinking the girl hysteric and traumatized. Ashoka would just contact her master or another jedi and they would all be rescued.

"No, no one can leave them." The girl said shaking her head.

"I'll just use the Force to contact my Master. Then-"

"No, you can't contact any of the jedi. You have been cut off from the force! The shackles that bind you they are modeled off of sith artifacts, you are without the Force Ashoka." The girl said grabbing her shoulders. That's when Ashoka noticed how empty and alone she felt. She tried to connect with the force but found that what the girl had said was true.

She was cut off. She couldn't contact anyone. She was trapped, alone. And there was no telling what the Arapido would do to her. Her body shook and tears started forming in her eyes. She urged them back for the moment.

"What's going to happen to me?" She whispered, more to herself than the cat-girl.

"What has happened to all of us," She said solemnly, "do you have any idea as to who is going to do it to you?"

Ashoka looked at her confused. Who was going to do what? Then she remembered Squeebs. She gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth. She took a moment to calm herself down. She thought back to what had happened just before she had passed out.

"Brutus." Even as she said the name Ashoka knew that her situation wasn't good. The cat-girl's eyes grew wide.

"Brutus is the cruelest, most horrible, there aren't even words to describe him. He dose terrible things to women, terrible things. I'm so sorry." The girl said turning away, her voice trembling.

"What can I do?" Ashoka asked. The girl looked at her sadly.

"Is there anyone you care for greatly? Someone you love? I know the rules of attachment the jedi have but is there anyone, anyone at all?" The girl stared into her eyes intensely. Ashoka almost said no, but then she thought of Rex.

"Sort of." She said feeling her face start to heat up. The cat-girl gave her a sad but knowing smile. She nodded.

"You have a crush on someone?" She said with a sly smile that could be found on any group of gossiping school girls.

"There are rules-"

"Rules don't matter here. It would do you good if you just said who it is you like." It was true. Without the Force Ashoka realized she was about as good as dead.

"His name is Caption Rex. He's part of the 501st. He's saved my life countless times and I've saved his just as many." Ashoka became lost in thought.

"He's a clone?" The girl asked, a disbelieving look on her face. Ashoka resisted the urge to glare at her room mate. It wouldn't be good to make an enemy out of the person who could quite possibly be her only friend until she died.

"Not many people realize that the clones are still alive with their own personalities, they aren't just wet droids. You can't get loyalty, or bravery, or...love from a droid." Ashoka said defending her friends. She missed them. Echo, Cody, Bly, everyone, but she missed Rex most of all.

"Look this won't help much but try to imagine that it's Rex instead of Brutus. It's all I've got but it's better than nothing." She offered. Ashoka nodded grimly. She hated the idea of "pretending" that Brutus was Rex. She would fight back as much as she could but without the Force she would only last so long.

Ashoka was thrown back into her dark, dank cell. It didn't even register that Cathleen, her roommate, wasn't there. Ashoka was too hurt to pay attention to anything but herself. She was sore and hurting in places that she didn't really know she had. Ashoka had taken Cathleen's advice and tried to imagine that it was Rex she was having sex with, but it was too hard.

Ashoka knew that Rex would never do anything like that to her. Rex would have never torn her beliefs to shreds. He would have never violated her in such a way. Even if they had made love to each other Rex would have never been so rough with her.

Ashoka cried when she thought of Rex. His smiling face and dark brown eyes. Rex's strong arms that had saved her so many times since they had first met. She remembered all the times they had eaten dinner together in his quarters when Anakin had been mad at her or he had been away on a mission without them.

Ashoka pulled her knees up to her chest and cried. She missed Anakin, but Ashoka missed Rex even more. Ashoka kept thinking about all the time she had spent with Rex. Ashoka was positive that if she and Rex would have made love it would be full of love, care and passion. Unlike what she had just gone threw. All Brutus seemed to know was hate, brutality, and lust.

Ashoka closed her eyes. She was somewhere between consciousness and sleep. Ashoka let her mind wander. She felt her mind drift to the republic cruiser, Saline. Her mind and heart drifted threw the halls until she came to a door that looked like any other. She felt herself drift threw the door like a ghost. Ashoka knew this room by heart, it was Rex's room.

The room was small with only a bunk bed and a desk for when Rex was planing missions. The bunk bed was for when other Generals joined them on missions and their commanders and captions needed a place to stay.

Ashoka felt herself turn to look at Rex who was sleeping peacefully on the lower bunk. Ashoka looked at him for a long time. She noticed that he was holding something close to his chest. Ashoka felt herself drift until she was right next to Rex. She looked closely at what he was holding onto so tightly. It was her jedi cloak!

Ashoka gasped, she had thrown that off during the chase. This wasn't a memory, this was happening. This Rex was real and Ashoka knew it. How could it be possible though? She knew that the chains around her ankles restrained her Force powers. Was this some other power? Her thoughts continued on in this kind of manner for a while.

_Wait_, she suddenly thought, _Why is Rex sleeping with my cloak?_

It almost looked like a kid was sleeping with a security blanket. She smiled sadly, finding the irony in her thoughts because after all he was only about 12. However she knew that Rex was hardly ever scared of anything. He wouldn't need or want, for that matter, anything like that. It was kind of cute though. Ashoka watched as Rex started having some kind of nightmare.

"Ashoka.." Rex mumbled in his sleep. Ashoka was shocked, he was dreaming about her! She watched as Rex buried his face into her cloak.

"Ashoka..come back...please." Rex continued to mumble, he all but whimpered the 'please.' Ashoka felt butterflies in her stomach.

"He cares for me." She said out loud. Rex's eyelids fluttered in his sleep. Could he hear her? Ashoka was drawn out of her thoughts when Rex let out a sudden whimper. Ashoka reached out with her hand and touched his forehead.

Rex jolted awake causing Ashoka to pull back her hand. Rex looked around himself frantically. Like he was trying to find someone. His breathing was heavy and rapid. He had broken out in a cold sweat. Rex's eyes were wild. Ashoka had never seen Rex look this way. It broke her heart to see him like this.

Rex put his head in his hands and just sat there a minute. He let his breathing slow down. He lifted his head out of his hands. Rex reached out next to him and picked up Ashoka's cloak.

"What happened to you Ashoka?" He asked out loud. Ashoka looked at him for a long time. She watched as Rex thumbed the material of her cloak.

"Are you sure you want to know?" She asked him out loud. She knew Rex couldn't actually see or hear her. But Ashoka somehow felt connected to Rex in a way that she had never felt or could ever explain. Rex looked slightly confused but seemed to shrug it off.

"Yes." He whispered, barley audible. Then Rex seemed to realize that no one was there. He shook his head and laid back down on the bed. As Rex started to drift into sleep Ashoka gathered her memories, no matter how painful, and felt herself slip into Rex's mind. Then she let loose those memories. When she was done Ashoka felt herself leave his mind. She figured that it would take a while for Rex to start dreaming about her memories. Ashoka knew she couldn't stay there any longer. So she let her mind and heart pull back to her body. To her own nightmare.

**Next time on Connected:**

Rex missed her to the point where his chest ached at the mere memory of her.

"Her name is Mnene Metaxas."

Rex couldn't get his nightmares about Ashoka out of his head.

He tried to make his emotions less readable.

"You don't think that..."

**Chapter Four: His Real Nightmares Begin**

**Author's End Note**

**That should give you an idea of how I'm handling the rapes that happen in this story. So anyways leave your reviews if you want. I had a great B day by the way. **

**Until Next Time**


	4. Chapter Four: His Real Nightmares Begin

**Author's Note**

**Okay here is that short one I promised.**

Connected

Chapter Four: His Real Nightmares Begin

Main View: Rex

Secondary View: Anakin

Rex bolted upright for the second time that night. Only this time instead of seeing Ashoka walking away and disappearing into darkness he saw something much worse. He saw Ashoka being kidnapped and beaten. The worst part though was when she had been rapped. These couldn't be dreams. They were far to real and frightening, which was saying something because he was hardly ever scared..at least for himself. But what else could they be? Maybe Ashoka had connected with him threw the Force but why would she contact him and not General Skywalker or General Kenobi?

It had to be a dream, nothing else explained it. Rex tried to shrug it off and go back to sleep but that dream seemed so real. For what was probably the hundredth time in the last twelve hours he wondered if Ashoka was okay. The dream mad him worry even more about her than before.

What if that dream was some kind of memory transference? He had heard of jedi doing so to share memories and information more clearly. If that was a memory transference then that meant...that meant that a man named Brutus had rapped Ashoka. Rex felt an anger that he hadn't even known he'd had explode inside of him. If that guy had really done those things to her then Rex was going to kill him.

Rex tried to calm down, there was no guarantee that those had been Ashoka's memories, but did not succeed. He stared at the bunk above him and felt his own memories flow back to him. All the nights Ashoka had come in to just talk to him. It was really sweet. She seemed to be honestly concerned with his life and his future. Rex remembered all the times they had talked into the late night and Ashoka wound up sleeping on the top bunk. Rex missed her to the point where his chest ached at the mere memory of her.

He had to get her back. For Ashoka's sake as much as his own. Rex gripped her jedi cloak even tighter to his chest. He buried his face in the, surprisingly, soft brown material. He breathed in her scent. It was the only thing he had of hers.

Rex tried again to go back to sleep. It took some time but he finally drifted back off to sleep. Rex only dreamt of Ashoka that night.

The next morning Rex got up early to meet the Generals. They were in the war room talking. Anakin seemed irritated and worried. General Obi-Wan also seemed worried but he was better at concealing his feelings than his former padawan.

"Ah Rex there you are." The bearded jedi said when he noticed Rex walking over. Rex nodded curtly to them.

"Wow, Rex you look worse than me." Anakin said, trying to be funny and, at least in Rex's opinion, failing. He felt too tired to say something sarcastic or funny back.

"That bad huh?" He replied sleepily. He pinched the bridge of his nose to help with the head ache his lack of sleep had caused. If Ashoka were there she would probably notice and offer to help somehow by using the force. She did that for all of the men who served with her. The other jedi didn't exactly know about how she had been using her powers though so it was kept from their superiors, a rear thing in the GAR. Force he missed her.

"Didn't you sleep at all?" The general asked. He looked older, Rex noticed. He could just make out gray hairs starting to grow into the jedi's sandy mop of hair. The worry lines were starting to make their presents known too. Rex figured that he must have looked twice as bad because of the rapid aging.

"Not really, nightmares kept me up all night." Rex mumbled the last part to himself but the general had apparently heard him.

"Nightmares?" Anakin asked.

"It's not important General. What is important is finding Ashoka." He said sternly.

"Well, we're in luck because I managed to find a lead. The only woman to ever escape the Arapido. Her name is Mnene Metaxas. She is currently living on Corasant. I found her address, so when we get to Corasant we can go visit her." Obi-Wan said.

Rex couldn't decide weather he was glad or...worried. On the plus side they had found someone who had escaped the Arapido. On the down side she was the only one to have ever escaped. To top of that Rex couldn't get his nightmares about Ashoka out of his head.

"Rex why don't you try to rest some more? We need you awake and aware if you're going with us. Anakin advised. He wasn't use to seeing Rex look so, so what would be the right word for it? Exhausted? No, it was more than that. Maybe it was a combination of being worried and missing Ashoka. Well, what ever it was Anakin sure wasn't use to seeing Rex look the way he did.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer." Rex said as he turned and left. After Anakin was sure Caption Rex was gone he turned back to his old master.

"I think he misses her more then I do." He said worriedly.

"What do you mean?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Rex and Ashoka have always been close. I think he misses her, that's all." Anakin shrugged. He realized what he had said before shouldn't have left his lips. He tried to make his emotions less readable.

"They do seem found of each other." Obi-Wan replied thoughtfully. The two jedi stood in each other's presents for a long time.

"You don't think that..." Obi-Wan began.

"That they _like_, like each other? I don't know, but they are very close." Anakin said thinking it over, "We'll worry about their relationship when Ashoka is back."

Obi-Wan nodded his head in agreement. Anakin breathed a sigh of relief and thanked the Force that Obi-Wan had agreed and let the moment pass. They continued working on leads while Rex continued to have nightmares about Ashoka and the people who had taken her.

**Next time on Connected:**

"Someone was taken then?"

She couldn't be the one connecting with him, unless she wasn't connecting to Rex through the Force.

"But bringing me to Corasant, that was a mistake."

He had never felt this way.

"You sense her don't you?"

**Chapter Five: The Jedi's Wife**

**Author's Note**

**Like I said, short.**

**Until Next Time**

**Faith, Hope, and Love**


	5. Connected: Ch 5 The Jedi's Wife

**Author's Note**

**Here's that second chapter.**

**By the way even though I would love to own Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Or anything else star wars related) so I could put in Rexoka I unfortunately don't.**

Connected: Ch 5 The Jedi's Wife

Anikin, Obi-Wan, and Rex left the base to talk to Mneme. It seemed to take forever for them to get there. When they reached the apartment Obi-wan knocked of the door. A human woman in her late thirties opened the door. She had brown hair that was pulled back into a bun. Her skin was tan and her eyes were blue.

"Hello, how can I help you?" She asked. Rex noticed how she hid slightly behind the door. He also saw scars on her tan hands.

"I am Obi-Wan Kanobi. I'm a general in the Army of the Republic and a jedi. This is General Anikin Skywalker and Caption Rex. We were hoping to talk to Mneme about her knowledge of the Arapico." He said calmly. The woman's eyes darkened and she had a mixture of anger and sadness on her face.

"Someone was taken then?" She asked sadly. Kanobi nodded and Rex wondered how she had known.

"I am Mneme, please come in. I will tell you every thing I know about _them_. I will tell you some of my experiences and give you my advice." She said, inviting the three of them in. Rex was surprised that Mneme trusted them enough to let them in. He figured that she would hate all men after what had happened to her. He assumed that she went threw the same thing that he had seen in his dreams of Ashoka.

Rex still wasn't sure if what he had seen the night before was a dream of not. He couldn't get the images of Ashoka being scared and hurt, out of his mind. He shook his head to clear it before going inside. Rex looked around the apartment. It was a good size. The kitchen was by the left of the door. There was a table and chairs near the center of a large room directly ahead of them and they seemed to divide the room. The wall on the other side of the table had a large window that looked out into the city. To the left side of the table were bookshelves, some low chairs, and a desk. To the right of the table and chairs there was a living room area. With a couch, love seat, a lounge chair, and an ottoman in the center so that everyone could kick their feet up.

After studying the apartment for a quick second, noting the exits and plausible escape routes as he had been trained to do when ever he entered a new space, Rex started thinking about Ashoka again. He couldn't get use to her not being close enough for him to touch her. He wondered if, after what was happening to her, Ashoka would ever want to be touched again.

Mneme showed the jedi to the table as Rex became lost in his thoughts. Mneme then took a seat across from the jedi. She noticed that Rex was deep in thought.

"Rex feel free to sit anywhere you like. And I do mean sit." Mneme said kindly. Rex was startled for a second but quickly recovered. Rex chose to sit near the window, normally he would have just stood but Mneme had given her request a sort of order. He glanced out the window before looking back towards the others.

"Mneme what can you tell us about the Arapido?" Anikin asked.

"Why don't you explain what happened the day the girl disappears? I would like to know the circumstances that brought you here." Mneme requested. Anikin explained what happened to Ashoka. Rex tried to pay attention but he felt something nagging at the back of his brain, almost like someone was calling his name threw the window.

"Is Ashoka a strong person?" Mneme asked.

"Yes, she's one of the strongest people I know." Anikin replied.

"Both physically AND emotionally?" She asked.

"Yes." Anikin said.

"Good, she will need to be both if she is to survive and recover." She said with a quick nod.

"I was eighteen when they took me. I'm sure you've heard what they do. Those monsters don't deserve to live. They used us like some kind of product to be rented out to their customers. Sometimes when a customer liked a girl enough they would by her. The Arapido leader makes a large profit off of his 'slave' business. The Arapido want to make the biggest profit possible so they made sure that none of their customers or any of the new girls had diseases.

"They are particular about the girls they kidnap. They don't take Twileks, unless they find an exceptionally pretty girl. They like to have variety for themselves and their customers. The Arapido specialize in kidnaping Jedi girls. They have technology that allows them to cut off a Jedi's ability to access the Force. The Jedi girls can't contact other Jedi or anyone else for that matter."

"That's why we cant sense Ashoka in the Force?" Anikin asked.

"Yes, but if you concentrate you can sense that she is alive." Mneme said with a nod. Rex had been half listening to Mneme. He knew almost all of this from the file he had read on the Arapido about twelve times. So for the most part he found his face drifting towards the window. Rex was trying to concentrate on a presence he was familiar and yet unfamiliar with. It was the same feeling Rex had had the previous night when he had dreamed of Ashoka

Then Rex suddenly started listening when he heard Ashoka's name. He had heard something about the Arapido being able to shut off Ashoka's attachment to the Force. That meant that she couldn't be the one connecting with him, unless she wasn't connecting to Rex through the force.

"Mneme, how did you escape?" Obi-wan asked. Rex dragged his focus back to the conversation, this part would probably be important.

"While I was living as a 'slave' to those dogs something happened. After one of their 'sessions' I felt myself slip into a semi concise state. My mind drifted all the way back to Corasant. I found my mind wandering to the Jedi temple. I wandered the halls to the bedchambers until I felt a strong pull from one of the doors. I went inside and there he was.

"The Jedi knight that I knew was going to save me. I managed to transfer some of my memories to him. I kept doing the same thing every night until one night he found me. I was asleep when his mind found me. He asked me questions and I answered them as best I could. Then I asked questions and he answered me. I learned that his name was Briger and he was, as I had thought, a Jedi knight. We continued to talk. After Briger left I realized that we had connected somehow."

"But you just said that the Arapido have the technology to stop Jedi from using the Force." Anikin said, confusion lacing his voice.

"That is true but it is not the Force that helped me escape or will help Ashoka escape."

"Then what were you speaking of?" Obi-wan asked.

"I was speaking of a connection as old as the universe. A true love connection. It is so rare these days that it is said to only be a rumor. But it is true, people who love each other or are meant to be together develop a connection that links their minds. It is the only hope Ashoka has." Mnene said sternly.

"Jedi are forbidden to love, how can Ashoka have a connection if she has never been in love?" Anikin asked.

"What about you and your Jedi friend, you said that the two of you had never met." Obi questioned.

"Like I said people who are truly in love with each other or are meant to be with each other from a connection. Even if the two people have never met. Now may I continue with the story?" She asked. The two Jedi nodded and Mnene continued.

"Briger said that if I could tell him where I was the he would come and save me. I told him I didn't know but if I learned of where I was. then I would tell him. About a month went b y. I wanted to die so badly, the only thing that kept me going was the thought of meeting Briger some day and our almost nightly talks.

One day one of the clients decided he wanted me to be his personal 'entertainment' for the night. I contacted Briger and told him that I was being moved but that I still didn't know where to.

I was sitting, chained on the bed. Waiting for the client to come. I was there for an hour at least when I heard a commotion from outside. People were screaming and shouting. Then there was complete silence. I heard footsteps running towards the room. I got scared when they stopped outside the door. I figured that it was the client. Then without warning the doors flew off their hinges.

A scurfy young man came walking into the room. I was terrified. I started screaming. He came over to me and tried to calm me down. But I kept screaming and hitting him. He wasn't angry at all. He took my chin and forced me to look him in the eyes. That's when I knew, he was Briger.

He scooped me up in his arms and rushed me out of the building faster than I could blink. The halls we paste what looked like they had been attacked. Armored thugs lay dead all around us. Briger said hat it was his handiwork. He got me to his ship and then took me back to Corasant." Mnene stopped.

"Then you were able to come home and recover from what they did to you." Obi Wan said, in truth it was more of a question. Rex wanted to roll his eyes. Of corse Mnene had recovered she had let them in hadn't she?

"Yes, Briger took me back home. But bringing me to Corasant, that was a mistake." She looked down at her hands, her eyes had clouded over. "I do not have to tell you anymore than this and I do not wish to."

Rex felt a shiver go up his spine. He wondered what else she was hiding but he knew that it would be too painful for him to ask. He had found the story scary, and his concern for Ashoka only grew. He looked back out the window and wondered about where she was.

"Thank you, Mneme, for telling us your story I think we understand more now." Obi-wan said stiffly. He had apparently been bothered by all of this too. Rex noticed General Skywalker's fist clenched under the table.

"Why don't you stay a bit longer and let me fix some tea? There are things that you need to know before you go looking for Ashoka." Mneme asked.

"That would be very kind of you" Anikin said as Mnene got up to start fixing the tea. She had almost finished with the tea when the door opened and three figures stepped inside. Rex saw a man who looked about two years older than Mneme. He also saw two kids. The older one was a girl who looked to be about sixteen. Then there was a boy who looked about eleven.

"Mnene are you alright? Did something happen?" The man said nervously glancing at Rex and then the Jedi.

"Don't worry Briger they only came to ask me questions. A young woman was kidnapped and she happens to be a Jedi." She explained. Briger glanced nervously at Obi-wan and Anikin.

"Amy why don't you and Jax go to your rooms while we talk?" Briger asked.

"Sure thing Dad." Amy said as she led Jax away from the living room. When they were gone Mnene came back with their tea. She gave Obi-wan and Anikin theirs before bringing a cup over to Rex. He didn't notice her until she tapped him on the shoulder.

"I thought you'd like some coffee instead of tea." Mnene said.

"Oh, thanks." Rex said a little surprised at her thoughtfulness. She smiled at him and then went back to sit down with the Jedi. Her husband joined her.

"Again thank you for your help and hospitality." Obi-wan said before sipping his tea.

"There is no need to thank me. But I feel that it is my obligation to warn you before you find out on your own. When you find Ashoka she won't be the same girl that you knew. She will be terrified of every man that comes near her. Asoka will be plagued by night mares. She will be violent and terrified. You wont be able to reason with her. I advise having her leave the Jedi Order as well. But I also advise keeping her in the army, she will need structure and an outlet. Though I doubt she will ever do more than help on the star ships. She will need rehabilitation but even with that...Ashoka may not recover." Mnene warned.

"Is there any way to help her?" Anikin asked, worry written all over his face.

"The only person who can help Ashoka is the man she has the connection with. She will not fear him. He will be the only one who can help her recover. Ashoka and her love will need to constantly be near each other. She has a better chance of recovering that way." Mnene advised.

"Thank you for helping us." Obi-wan said. Rex was worried about how Ashoka would be. Would she be afraid of him? Rex couldn't bear to even think about that.

"Is there any way that we can find the guy Ashoka is connected to?" Anikin asked. Rex didn't want to listen to that conversation. He wanted to get Ashoka back safe and sound but he didn't want to see her with another man. It shouldn't have mattered but it did. Rex couldn't help it, he had never felt this way. It felt like a weight had been tied to his heart when he thought about Ashoka not being next to him always

Rex hopped that Ashoka would be okay, no that wasn't right. Rex _needed_ Ashoka to be okay. He needed her safely by his side so he could protect her. He needed to be able to hold her in his arms. He needed to know she was alright. Rex just plain needed Ashoka.

Then, like most of the day, Rex felt like someone was calling for him. Like Ashoka was calling for him. He looked out the window. Rex wasn't sure why he was looking out the window, it wasn't like he'd be able to find Ashoka somewhere in the crowds. He was just starring out the window, not paying any attention to the conversation or even the others in the room. He didn't even notice that Mnene had walked up behind him until she spoke.

"You sense her don't you?" She asked, startling Rex.

"Who?" He didn't have a clue what she was talking about.

"You sense Ashoka, don't you?" She said calmly. Her gray eyes boring holes into his soul.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Rex said nervously glancing at Anikin and Obi-wan for help.

"You hear her voice. You've seen Ashoka in your dreams. you keeping looking for her but can't seem to find her. I went through the same thing when I developed a connection with Mnene." Briger said from the table.

"I don't think-"

"You love her, do not deny it. You love her and you can feel her presents. That is why you keep looking off, Rex your subconscious is trying to find Ashoka." Mnene explained.

"Look Ashoka and me are just friends. Besides I'm a Clone, a dime a dozen, I don't have any special powers like the Jedi. I don't have a connection with Ashoka like that." Rex tried to explain.

"Listen to me Caption Rex!" Mnene ordered, "With out your connection to Ashoka there is almost no chance that you will find her! Then if by some miracle you find her without that connection, with out your connection she will not be able to recover from this! Without your love Ashoka _will_ die!"

Rex was caught off guard at the sudden out burst. He didn't know how he felt about Ashoka. Rex only knew that he had to save her. He wasn't sure how to handle the fact that he was the only one who could help Ashoka. Rex did know that he had to save her. He wasn't sure why he was so compelled to save her but that's what he was going to do.

"Rex we can work the details out later. Right now we need to find Ashoka and according to Mnene your the only one who can find her." Anikin said placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. Rex merely nodded in response.

They said good bey to Briger and Mnene and returned to the base. None of them spoke on the way there. When they got back Rex rushed off to his quarters before anyone could try to talk to him.

Rex needed some time to think. He laid down on his bunk and quickly fell asleep. His dreams were filled with memories of time he had spent with Ashoka.

**Next time on Connected:**

"**Any idea where you're at now?"**

"**I don't like seeing you hurt." She said quietly.**

"**I'll make contact with you tomorrow."**

**Chapter Six: Moving**

**Author's Note**

**Well I've got the next one but I thought I'd update this chapter first.**


	6. Chapter Six: Moving

Connected: Ch 6 Moving

Ashoka had no idea how long she'd been in the 'prison' she had lost track. It could have been days or it could have been months maybe even years. It didn't matter, the routine was the same. Wake up, eat, if there was any food, clean the hide-out, which took hours at least. She had no idea why the place was so dirty even though the girls cleaned everyday. Then she would go back to her cell and try to sleep. She would eat if they gave her any food in the afternoon. Then the worst part of her day, she would be dragged out of her cell at seven and taken to another room to be the play thing of some Arapido. They would eventually throw her back into her cell late in the night or in the early morning. From there she would roll up into a fetal position, cry, scream, cower, and try to recover. After she calmed down she would think of the people she loved. If Crista was in the cell they would talk about what they would do to their captures if they ever got free. And then what they would do after they escaped. After Crista was asleep Ashoka tried to find Rex with her semi concise mind.

That's what she was getting ready to do at that moment. Ashoka waited until she could hear Crista's light snoring. When she was sure her cell mate was asleep Ashoka let her mind wander. This time her mind wandered till she reached a base on a city planet. She recognized the planet. The Arapido had been keeping her and the others hidden on that planet almost a month ago.

She felt herself wander like a ghost through the empty halls. She was on her way to where she sensed Rex was when Ashoka caught sight of her master. He seemed worried and sad. Ashoka didn't like seeing Anikin like this. He was the closest thing to a father that she had. She missed him. She knew that she couldn't be seen or heard by him though, she had tried that already, so she continued in Rex's direction.

She found him suffering through a fitful sleep once again. Ashoka gently put her hand on his cheek. Rex calmed at her touch. Then he slowly woke up.

"Hi Rex." Ashoka said softly.

"Hi Ashoka." Rex replied as he sat up. He couldn't really see Ashoka but he knew she was there and he could hear her whisper.

"Sorry we didn't get to the prison soon enough." Rex said sadly.

"It's okay Rex." She said trying to reassure him. But in truth it wasn't okay. Ashoka wanted to be with Rex, Anikin, and everyone else again. Most of all Ashoka wanted to truly touch Rex again, no just ghost through him. She missed him so much.

"Any idea where you're at now?" Rex asked.

"It's really cold. I think we're on a frozen planet, I caught a glimpse of it when we were flying in. I can't be for sure though." She knew it didn't help much.

"Did you see any distinctive features?" Rex asked.

"No I was only able to catch a glimpse." She stopped for a second, "Rex I don't think the place we're at is an actual base. The Arapido didn't even take us off the ship."

"Do you want to talk about what's been happening to you lately? It might help you if you do." Rex offered, unsure of what to say.

"Thanks Rex but I don't think I should tell you what's been happening here lately, you'd get angry and upset. I don't like seeing you hurt." She said quietly.

"Ashoka please, it'll help, Mnene said it helped her to tell Briger what was going on. If it's too painful to talk about then why don't you transfer your memories that way I can understand and maybe help you." Rex suggested. She didn't say anything.

" 'Soka please, I want to help you..And I also want to kick those awful Arapidos' asses." Rex tried to joke. It worked, Ashoka couldn't help but smile and give a small giggle. She sighed in defeat and gathered her memories. Ashoka felt herself give Rex the memories. Or rather copies of the memories.

"Alright happy? You should have dreams about those memories after you go back to sleep. Goodnight Rex, I'll let you know if I find anything out about our next location." Ashoka said as she felt herself drift back to her cell.

"Goodnight Ashoka. I'll make contact with you tomorrow. We can talk about what's been happening then." Rex said before he fell asleep, reliving Ashoka's horrifying memories. He wondered how she could be so strong in the face of such cruelties.

**Next time on Connected:**

"**1,386 sir."**

"**Actually it's more of a 'who' I found."**

"**Was that a-"**

**Chapter Seven: Dead Ends**

**Here's the next one like I promised. There's more on the way.**


	7. Chapter 7: Dead Ends

Ch 7: Dead Ends

When Rex walked into the war room of the Saline he wasn't surprised to find General Skywalked and General Kanobi talking about something in hushed tones. They had been doing that ever since they had visited Mnene. Since then Rex excepted that he was the only on who could truly save Ashoka's life. Rex was still debating what to do about the other part of what Mnene had said. The part about him and Ashoka being soul mates. Rex really wanted for Ashoka to love him but she was still a Jedi and there were still rules.

The Generals had decided not to include Rex in on any of the hushed conversations. They hadn't even given Rex some lame excuse for what they were talking about. They had done that once and the glare they had received...well lets just say they hadn't tried it since. They could have been discussing Ashoka and didn't want to upset him. It didn't matter really what they were talking about. Rex's curiosity would probably get the best of him soon. Until then he'd act like they weren't talking about something behind his back.

When Anikin saw Rex in the doorway they stopped talking Rex walked up and saluted them.

"Rex how many times have i told you that you don't have to solute?" Anikin said. He looked tired and worn out. Rex decided to humor him to try and lighten the mood.

"1,386 sir." Rex said with a cocky smile.

"Really Rex?" Anikin asked with a raised eyebrow. Rex just shrugged.

"So Anikin what did you find?" Obi-wan asked.

"Actually it's more of a 'who' I found." He said pressing a few buttons on a keyboard. A few seconds later mugshots popped up on the hologram. The mugshots were of a human male. He looked like we was somewhere between twenty eight and thirty five. He was dressed in torn, black cloths and had spiked black hair.

"This is Li Solon. He's a convicted rapist, kidnapper, drug dealer, and murderer. Currently he lives at a hotel above his favorite bar on Jlon. Jlon is a mediam sized planet that is heavily populated. It's mostly city. We're in luck too because this planet is under Republic control." Anikin said referring to one of their previous missions to track down leads. Needless to say the Seps were _not_ happy.

"Well, thank goodness for little miracles." Obi-wan joked. Rex and Anikin smiled at their friend's sarcasm.

"Let's just hope for another little miracle and actually get a lead on Ashoka's location." Rex said becoming serious again. The others nodded. They went on to discuss how they were going to go about completing the mission and working out the details of every thing about the mission.

A few hours later Rex found himself running out of a bar. He was chasing after Li Solon. The guy had realized that Anikin and Obi-wan were jedi because of some drunk idiot who had started a fight with Aniking. The rest was self explanatory. So now Rex was stuck chasing after Solon, through the crowded streets of Jlon.

Solon rounded a corner, into an ally. Rex heard a shocked cry as a shot rang out. Rex stopped in his tracks. Anikin wasn't too far behind him.

"Was that a-" Anikin said between gasps.

"Ah hu." Rex mumbles as he weakly nodded his head. Before Rex knew what he was doing he stated tearing up the street to the corner. This couldn't be happening, not again. They couldn't afford to loose this lead. _Ashoka_ couldn't afford for them to loose this lead.

When Rex rounded the corner he found what he had been expecting. Li Solon...dead.

"No! Dame it we needed this lead!" Rex shouted. Anikin came jogging up behind him.

"Why does this keep happening!?" Rex shouted at Anikin. Rex continued to let out a very long stream of curses, not all of them in Basic, and none of them nice.

"Come on Rex. Let's go back to the ship." Anikin said, putting a hand on the Caption's shoulder. Rex shoved the hand away. He knew he shouldn't have but he couldn't help it. Another lead to Ashoka died before they could even ask a question.

"Come on Rex, Ashoka probably needs to make contact for her sanity's sake." Anikin said urging Rex back toward the ship. Rex numbly let himself be guided back to the Saline.

Nothing mattered at this point. Except seeing Ashoka again, but not being able to tell her she was coming home broke Rex's heart.

**Next time on Connected:**

**the door to her cell opened**

"**That's how they found us at the other place isn't it?"**

"**What are you doing to her!"**

"**they won't be able to recognize your stinking corps"**

**Chapter Eight: Found Out**


	8. Chapter 8: Found Out

Ch 8: Found Out

Ashoka lay on the ground waiting for Cathleen's breathing to steady out. It had become habit now. All of her thoughts were consumed with this moment. The moment when she could talk to Rex, to be reminded that another world existed outside the cells and chains. A world where there were good people..well Rex was a good person anyways. And so were his brothers so there were a few good people out there, or should she just say men? She didn't think she would fear another woman after this, but men, she couldn't say. She didn't know what she would say or do if any man besides Rex showed up to rescue her.

This topic reminded her that she needed to talk to Rex, maybe he had information on the rescue. She doubted that there was any new information but she needed to see Rex. Ashoka took a deep breath and let her heart wander to find Rex. Rex had tried a few times to make the connection the other way, with him contacting her, but had yet to succeed.

As she drifted off between consciousness and unconsciousness tonight though the door to her cell opened. She ignored it thinking they would figure her asleep. She continued letting her connection with Rex lead her. Ashoka didn't notice the heavy foot steps that nearly shook the cell. She didn't notice the eyes glaring at her. She didn't realize that someone in the room was breathing heavily. She did however jolt awake when a heavy hand fell on her shoulder.

"So you've been using your force powers to contact them hu?" Brutus snarled as he yanked her up. Ashoka let out a strained whimper but tried to hided it.

"That's how they found us at the other place isn't it?" He glared at her. She shook her head as best she could.

"Don't lie to me wench!" he shouted. Cathleen woke up because of the noise.

"What are you doing to her!" The cat girl yelled. Brutus backhanded her so hard that her head hit the wall and she fell unconscious.

"I'll deal with you later," He smirked, "As for you I'm going to kill you! But first I'm going to have my fun with you. And then I'm going to mess you up so bad that when your little jedi friends get here they won't be able to recognize your stinking corps!" Brutus yanked her out of the cell and down the darkened hall too his chambers.

**Next time on Connected:**

"**Rex? What are you-"**

**Would Ashoka say that she lov-no.**

"**I'm willing to wager that Rex would have no care for his own life let alone any of us."**

"**Brutus took her to his quarters in one of the branch tunnels."**

"**Make sure she isn't injured!"**

**Chapter Nine: The Rescue**


	9. Chapter 9: The Rescue

Ch 9: The Rescue

Rex was having a relatively peaceful sleep when his mind was suddenly invaded. He saw Ashoka screaming out his name. Then she was gone. Rex knew that it couldn't be just a dream. Ashoka had made contact but this wasn't like any of the other times. Ashoka was terrified. Suddenly, before he had a chance to realize what was going on visions started flashing in Rex's head.

There were visions of people. One Rex recognized immediately from Ashoka's memories, Brutus. Then there were visions of a planet, a continent, a forest, and finally a base descised to look like a cave. After that there was a prison cell and Ashoka was in it! She was chained to a wall. Then Rex saw a dark figure start to walk towards her. She screamed out as the man stepped closer.

Rex woke with a start after that. He check his surroundings, he was in his bed, in his room. Then Rex realized that this had been the vision he had been waiting for. He knew where Ashoka was and could save her! But Rex also realized that she was in mortal danger. He jumped out of bed and hurriedly put on his armor.

He ran out of his room and sprinted towards Anikin's room. When he reached the door Rex started pounding on it.

"Alright! Alright I'm coming!" Anikin shouted from inside the door. Rex stopped banging on the door long enough for the General to open it. When Anikin opened the door and saw Rex he was visibly confused.

"Rex? What are you-"

"No time General, I know where Ashoka is!" Rex said impatiently. Anikin's expression changed immediately.

"Where?"

"Planet Tran, outer rim system of Nall. They're holding her in a base that is discussed as a cave in the East forrest." He said hurriedly. Anikin nodded and COMed the Admiral.

"We'll be there in an hour." the Admiral replied confidently. Rex hopped he was right. With that Anikin turned off the COM.

"I'll go tell Obi-wan. You need to go back to sleep." Anikin said.

"General wait, I think they're going to kill her." Rex said worriedly.

"Why do you say that?" He asked seriously.

"Sir I can't, I don't know how to explain it. I didn't actually see them kill Ashoka but...I had a vision. It came after Ashoka made contact. I saw a lot things. Women in chains. Arapido members. The location of where their base is and where they are holding Ashoka. Then I caught a glimpse of..a man killing Ashoka. It hasn't happened yet but, General Skywalker what if I don't get there in time?" Rex confessed his deepest fear.

"Rex look I know what you're going through. Believe it or not I really do know what you're going through. Rex we're going to save her. _You_ are going to save Ashoka." Anikin said before running off to find Obi-wan, who had gone to get a drink of water not long before Rex had come in.

Rex wasn't sure how General Skywalker could understand what he was going through. Was it possible that Anikin had someone that he cared about just as much as Rex cared about Ashoka? He didn't know. He decided to ignore that bit of the conversation, at least until a later date.

Rex went back to his room. At first he tried to connect with Ashoka but something was keeping him from her. He was worried about her. He decided to try and come up with some sort of plan to rescue her. But Rex was too distracted. He found himself wondering through the halls.

Rex couldn't help but think of what he was going to do after they got Ashoka back. He had been so focused on just getting her back that he hadn't been thinking about what they would do after she was back. She'd need a lot of help with her rehabilitation. Anikin was convinced that Ashoka would need to leave the Order. That was okay with Rex, in fact with the Order out of the way he and Ashoka were free to do what ever they wanted to. Well Ashoka was at least, Rex was still stuck in the GAR.

Rex wondered what Ashoka would say to him when he found her. Would she thank him? Would she scream at the sight of a man? Would she jump into his arms and kiss him? Would Ashoka say that she lov-no. Rex wouldn't even consider it at this point.

He found himself in the control room. Anikin and Obi-wan were there. They were no longer talking in hushed whispers. And this time they didn't notice as Rex walked up behind them.

"Anikin be reasonable. Rex is in no condition to go into battle, let alone a rescue mission that could very easily turn into a hostage situation." Obi-wan said harshly.

"Master, Rex just wants to rescue Ashoka." General Skywalker argued back.

"That's the exact reason he shouldn't be sent in. He won't be concerned about anyone else but Ashoka. I'm willing to wager that Rex would have no care for his _own_ life let alone any of us." Obi-wan said darkly.

"Sir with all due respect I don't care what you say. I'm going after Ashoka." Rex said angrily behind them.

"My point exactly." Anikin said nodding at Rex.

"But Anikin-"

"No Obi-wan he needs this." Anikin said dryly. General Kandobi sighed.

"Very well." He said as he turned to walk out.

"Thank you Sir." Rex said to Anikin.

"No problem Rex. I know how much you care about Ashoka, just treat her right okay?" Anikin said with a weary expression.

"Yes Sir." Rex said as they walked towards the hanger bay.

An hour later the large rescue team was making their way towards the opening of a cave. It was just like in the vision. Rex had to fight against himself not to just run ahead of the team. 'You cant go rushing in there. You'd just put her in more danger.' he told himself. The last thing he wanted was for Ashoka to be hurt.

It didn't take long for them to run into the first guards. After that everything was a blur to Rex. It went from the first Arapido falling dead to the girls in terrible conditions, many whom were chained to the walls or floors. Fights, killing, screaming. Some girls thanked them while others cowered away from the group.

Then he came upon a cell that looked like Ashoka's. There was a girl in there but no Ashoka.

"Please, do you know where Ashoka is?" Rex asked desperately. The girl eyed him wearily.

"Please, I love her!" Rex pleaded.

"Is your name Rex?" She asked.

"Yes." He replied with a slight nod of his head.

"She says your name in her sleep." The cat girl said.

"I have to find her."

"Brutus took her to his quarters in one of the branch tunnels. Follow this corridor and take a left at the crossroad. Follow that until you reach a large room with archways. Go through the one with Brutus scratched over the arch way."

"Thank you. Someone come tend to the young woman! Make sure she isn't injured!" Rex hollered to one of his brothers.

He and a group of brothers followed the girl's instructions and found the large room. The others went of in twos or threes to the other archways. Rex however went alone into the one labeled 'Brutus' his brothers understanding that he had to go in alone.

**Next time on Connected:**

Rex rushed further into the cave.

The body slumped, lifeless.

"I don't think I could bear it."

Anikin stood up and walked out of the room.

**Chapter Ten: Brutus' Death**

Okay I've not been on fanfiction in for ever! So with all these chapters kind of sitting around on my computer and a little free time I decided to post all of the ones I've made.


	10. Chapter 10: Brutus' Death

Ch 10: Brutus' Death

Rex walked into the room labeled 'Brutus' with his guns raised. He heard shouts of anger from someone. He then heard someone crying and he recognized the crying as Ashoka's. Then the crying turned into screaming.

Rex rushed further into the cave. Then he came across a man with black hair in a black shirt and brown pants. The man barely registered in Rex's mind though. Because there slumped on the floor, battered, bruised, and bleeding was Ashoka. She was chained with her wrists held above her head. He looked at the monster he recognized from Ashoka's memories as Brutus.

When Brutus raised his hand to strike Ashoka something in Rex snapped. He shot Brutus in one of his legs and his chest. Then he started ponding the man who had taken Ashoka from him in the first place. When he was done with Brutus he couldn't tell if the man was even alive. So he used the viro-blade in his gauntlet and shoved it through Brutus' head. The body slumped, lifeless. Rex retracted the blade.

He quickly went to Ashoka's side. She looked at him wearily. Getting the hint Rex took off his helmet. Her eyes went big and she smiled at him.

Rex couldn't help it he wrapped her up in his arms and she started sobbing into his shoulder.

"Rex is that really you?" she cried. Rex drew a shaky breath.

"Yea I'm here for real. I told you I'd kick the Arapidos' asses." he joked pulling back from her. He realized her hands were still chained and grabbed the keys

When he got the shackles off of her Ashoka jumped and wrapped her arms around him. Rex returned the embrace. Never wanting to let go.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again!" she sobbed. Rex could feel his own tears slipping down his face.

"Ashoka, please don't ever leave me like that. I don't think I could bear it." He said as he rubbed circles into her back gently.

"I'm not oh Force I don't want to ever leave you again " she sobbed.

Then Rex pulled back to look at her face.

"Ashoka I love you." he said softly.

"I love you too but how can you love me after what's happened to me? I'm no longer a virgin, Brutus stole that from me." she looked away from him and Rex felt his heart sore and the crash at what she had said. She loved him! Never in a million life times would he have imagined that Ashoka would actually love him. But he also felt sick at what else she had said. He wanted to make everyone who had hurt Ashoka pay but that wasn't what she needed. Right then she needed him.

"Ashoka I love you no matter what. You never willingly had sex with them so you never lost your virginity. They tried to take something that can only be given. Ashoka I'll kill every last one of them if you want me to. But I think that what we both really need is to be together somewhere safe right now."

Ashoka smiled and nodded.

"Thank you." she said softly. Rex gave her a smile too before glancing down her body to see what injuries she had sustained. He felt himself blush crimson when he noticed her lack of cloths. He quickly looked back up. Ashoka blushed too, it was nice to have a man who didn't stare openly at her body.

"I guess I should COM someone and have them bring you some cloths." he was about to do so when Anakin and Obi-Wan ran into the room. They must have sensed her presents in the Force. They both grind happy to see her again.

"Ashoka we were-" Anakin tried to step forward as he was speaking but he was cut off by Ashoka screaming. He stopped cold in his tracks, arm slightly out stretched. Rex barely noticed him though.

As soon as Anakin started stepping forward and talking Ashoka had screamed. She had turned away from them, burying herself deeper into Rex's armor. She was mumbling incoherently for the most part but he caught a few phrases.

"Go away"

"Don't let them.."

"Please"

She sobbed. All Rex could do was hold onto her shaking frame. He tried to tell her that they wouldn't hurt her but it did little to calm her down.

"Could one of you get her something to wear? Something modest?" He asked the Jedi as he continued to try to sooth Ashoka. Obi-Wan nodded and left the room.

"It's going to be alright Ashoka. I promise General Skywalker won't hurt you. Anikin won't hurt you." he tried to sooth her. Upon hearing Ankinin's name she calmed. She looked up and recognition fell upon her face.

"Skyguy! I'm sorry, it's just.." She trailed off looking away in shame.

"Hay it's not your fault I'm just glad you're alright." He said placing a gently hand on her shoulder, "I'll wait for Obi-wan outside. Then we'll see about getting you on to the ship so you can be safe."

Anikin stood up and walked out of the room.

**Next time on Connected:**

Okay so I haven't made chapter eleven yet soooo yea. These ought to keep everyone happy for a while though. What caused the delay was a deletion of chapter eight and I didn't want to post the seventh chapter without the previews, oh stupid time lapses and mouses, not to mention my complete lack of memory for what I had written (lesson learned don't leave stuff minimized for days on end without saving it!) Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapters.

**Chapter Eleven: Yet to be made**


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